SCHULZE-DELITZSCH, shoolt'sĕ-dā'lĭch,
Hermann, German politician and
economist: b. Delitzsch, Prussian Saxony, 29 Aug.
1808; d. Potsdam, 29 April 1883. After legal
courses at Leipzig and Halle, he entered the
Prussian public service; but from 1841 devoted
his attention to the economic betterment of
small farmers and artisans. Among his various
activities, the most important was the establishment
of the “people's bank” system, inaugurated
at Delitzsch. In these banks, the subscribers
made small deposits, obtaining proportional
credit and dividends; the management being
vested in a board composed of subscribers. In
1859 the more than 200 such banks were
centrally organized under the direction of
Schulze-Delitzsch. At the time of his death there were
in Germany alone 3,500 branches with more
than $100,000,000 in deposits; while the system
had been extended to Austria, Italy, Belgium
and Russia. He published ‘Chapters of a
German Workingman's Catechism’ (1863); ‘The
Laboring Classes and Associationism in
Germany’ (2d ed., 1863); ‘Money Advance and
Credit Associations as People's Banks’ (5th ed.,
1876). Consult his life by Bernstein (1879).